Although several everyday functions and sporting activities demand controlled use of the abdominal and back muscles while working with the upper limbs, the activity of core muscles during dynamic upper limb exercises in the standing position has not been studied extensively. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine abdominal and back muscle activity during dynamic upper limb exercises while standing and to evaluate whether dynamic exercises are appropriate for strengthening muscles. The activation of the rectus abdominis, obliquus externus abdominis, longissimus, and multifidus muscles during dynamic bilateral or unilateral shoulder exercises with or without fixation of the pelvis was measured in 20 healthy women using surface electromyography. Trunk muscle activation during isometric maximum contraction was used as a comparative reference. With bilateral shoulder extension and unilateral shoulder horizontal adduction, abdominal muscle activity was >60% of activity during reference exercises. With unilateral shoulder horizontal abduction and shoulder extension exercises, back muscle activity was >60% of the activity level reference exercise. Muscle activation levels were 35-64% lower during shoulder horizontal adduction and abduction without fixation compared with exercises with fixation. The results indicate that upper limb exercises performed in the standing position are effective for activating core muscles. Bilateral and unilateral shoulder extension and unilateral shoulder horizontal abduction and adduction with the pelvis fixed elicited the greatest activity of the core muscles.
Participating in competitive sport increases the risk for injuries and musculoskeletal pain among adolescent athletes. There is also evidence that the use of prescription drugs has increased among sport club athletes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of painkillers among young male ice hockey players (IHP) in comparison to schoolboys (controls) and its relation to the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and problems during activities and sleeping. Information was gathered through a questionnaire, completed by 121 IHP and compared to the responses of 618 age-matched controls. Results showed that monthly existing pain was at 82% for IHP, and 72% for controls, though IHP had statistically more musculoskeletal pain in their lower limbs (56% vs. 44%), lower back (54% vs. 35%), and buttocks (26% vs. 11%). There were no group differences in the neck, upper back, upper limb, or chest areas. The disability index was statistically similar for both groups, as musculoskeletal pain causing difficulties in daily activities and sleeping was reported by a minority of subjects. Despite this similarity, IHP used more painkillers than controls (18% vs. 10%). Further nuanced research is encouraged to compare athletes and non-athletes in relation to painkillers.
Importance Multisite pain is a major adverse health outcome in the adolescent population, affecting the daily lives of up to every third adolescent and their families. Objective To 1) predict multisite pain incidence in the whole body and in the musculoskeletal locations in adolescents, and 2) explore the sex-specific predictors of multisite pain incidence with a novel machine learning approach. Design A 2-year observational study (2013-2015). Three different baseline data sets were utilized to predict multisite pain incidence during the follow-up. Setting Population-based sample of Finnish adolescents. Participants Apparently healthy adolescents. Exposures The first data set included 48 selected baseline variables relevant for adolescents health and wellbeing. Data included information on students self-reported, objectively measured, and device-based demographics, physical and psychosocial characteristics, and lifestyle factors. The second data set included nine physical fitness variables related to the Finnish national Move! monitoring and surveillance system for health-related fitness. The third data set included all available baseline data (392 variables). Main Outcome and Measures Onset of multisite pain (=weekly pain during the past three months manifesting in at least three sites and not related to any known disease or injury) during the 2-year follow-up in the whole body or musculoskeletal locations. Musculoskeletal pain sites included the neck/shoulder, upper extremities, chest, upper back, low back, buttocks, and lower extremities. Whole body pain sites also the head and abdominal areas. A machine learning algorithm random forest was utilized. Results Among 410 participants (57% girls) aged on average 12.5-years (SD 1.2), sixteen percent of boys and 28.1% of girls developed multisite pain in the whole body and 9.6% and 15.3% in the musculoskeletal area during follow-up. The prediction ability of the machine learning approach with 48 predictive variables reached an AUC 0.65 at highest. With ML, a broad variety of predictors were identified, with up to 33 variables showing predictive power in girls and 13 in boys. Conclusions and Relevance Findings highlight that rather than any isolated variable, a variety of factors pose a risk for future multisite pain. More emphasis on holistic and multidisciplinary approaches is recommended to prevent multisite pain in adolescence.
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